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As we all know, beauty starts from within and what you eat can affect your wellbeing in so many ways. The key to feeling good in your own skin and being well is of course in healthy and balanced lifestyle. My diet has always been very balanced and full of wholefoods and exercising has always played a big part in my life. However, sometimes I just feel extra tired and that’s when I check I’m following all these principles below.

Eat wholefoods and stay away from processed foods

Eating wholefoods is the foundation of a balanced diet and gut health. Eating wholefoods means sticking to eating lots of greens, lean proteins, good fats and clean food. Highly processed foods rarely are what they say they are and usually contain lots of sugar, salt and bad fats.

Drink lots of water

Staying hydrated is very important for both your gut health and your skin. Always have a water bottle with you, preferably a re-usable one. Starting your day with a big glass of water is a good way to get your system on after a long night, especially if you squeeze some lemon juice or add apple cider vinegar in with the water, as I mentioned in this post. However, drinking excessive amount of water a day is not beneficial in any way so try to stick to 2-3 liter, or more on hot days.

Stay away from snacking and sugar

Snacking constantly throughout the day is not good for your digestion, teeth, blood sugar levels nor shape. Try to stick to eating 3-5 meals a day and choose low GI foods that make you stay fuller longer. If you want to occasionally snack on something, choose healthier options, such as nuts, fruits or dark chocolate, and remember moderation.

Limit your gluten and dairy consumption

Even though different things work on different people, I think all of us should stay away from gluten and dairy as much as we can. Gluten causes all sorts of problem in the world, not only with gut health and skin, but also with blood pressure and obesity. Consuming dairy products has been associated with cellulite and eczema, for example.

Exercise regularly and get some fresh air

Can’t highlight this one enough. Especially now, when I’m spending 8 hours a day sitting at a desk I feel like my body really needs fresh air and exercising after every day. Even if it’s just a power walk, stretching and deep breathing it makes a big difference in a way I feel afterwards. Exercising is not about finding out how you can burn most calories every now and then. It’s about finding what you enjoy doing to make it a consistent habit. Sweating and breathing deep are also one of the best ways to detox your body and enhance beauty from within.

I’ve been thinking for a long time that I could write about relationship stuff. First about long distance relationship and how to make it work. Then about the end of a long distance relationship. But then I thought why not to make it a bit funnier. So I’m writing about the life of a bilingual couple. Because often times the everyday life of a bilingual couple can be quite hilarious.

Coming up with my own words

Have you ever heard of screepers? No wonder you haven’t because they don’t exist. But to me the word means wind screen wipers. This is the latest word I’ve come up with when I’ve had a very basic conversation with my boyfriend. He of course had no idea what I was talking about but I was very convinced I was using the right term.

Making my own translations

You know, for example some Finnish idioms that apparently don’t work in English. “There must be a dog buried here.” The same goes the other way too, I never have any idea what’s going on when my boyfriend uses an idiom. The other thing is when I decide to just not change the word order when I translate something in English. Or when I pronounce something with a surprisingly strong Finnish accent and make no sense at all.

Sleep talking

Just randomly starting to speak Finnish to my boyfriend when I’m just about to fall asleep or being super sleepy. I remember doing this quite a lot when I visited him in Canada over a year ago and was super jet lagged.

Too tired to go through the trouble of translating

Very common when we’re watching a movie in the evenings and something exciting or unexpected happens. I feel like commenting on it but at the time I’ve come up with a comment in English it’s already way too late. So better to just stay quiet.

Explaining something very complicated

You know when you’ve read about something very complicated and exciting and you want to talk about it? For example something that has happened in the world politics or a new medical innovation. And then you try to tell someone about what you’ve read and completely forget all the terms. And neither you nor your partner have any idea what you’re talking about.

Saying “See you later!” to everyone

A completely normal thing to say in Australia. But when we were traveling last year around Europe with my boyfriend I had to stop him from saying this to everyone. Just because if you say that to randoms, especially in Finland, people get weirded out. Like when is later? Do I really see you? Where?

Despite all these things I think we’re going strong. The most difficult part of being a bilingual couple is of course the humour, since it can be very characteristic to one country or culture and very strange to the other. But still, I think we have managed to create our own language since my boyfriend seems to understand me better and better even though I make less and less effort to ensure my English is “perfect”.

Quite often I find myself thinking what self-confidence really is and if it’s possible to be improved?

The confusing part probably is all the different terms, such as self-confidence and self-esteem. How I see the difference between these, is that self-esteem is more what you feel towards yourself and how you see yourself. I think that people who have high self-esteem love themselves inside and out and are happy to be who they are. They are content with their life and with the choices they have made in the past, and also accept the mistakes they might have made. A person with high self-esteem is very accepting and also ready to challenge oneself both mentally and physically.

Self-confident people, on the other hand, are people who are confident with who they are and what they do and think. So confident that for them it’s okay even though people didn’t always agree with them and they can admit being wrong. A self-confident person is good with people but also confident enough to be alone and not be the centre of attention. They can make a very difficult decision and truly stand behind it. They are okay to do things differently and accept differences in people. However, I think that sometimes self-confidence is something that comes and goes. In one moment you feel like you’re ready to conquer the world, and in the next you feel like giving up and hiding under a blanket for the rest of your life.

In my opinion both self-esteem and self-confidence can be improved. I must say that a few years ago I wasn’t self-confident at all, and today I feel very confident in my own skin, with my life and with all the decisions I’ve made. What has helped me the most, has been stepping outside my comfort zone, spending time alone and focusing on the things that make me happy. A few years ago I was very much out of my comfort zone when I was spending time alone or had to do things alone. Even having lunch or a coffee alone sounded frightening, but today it’s very normal for me to just sit alone and enjoy it. I think all the things that take you outside your comfort zone strengthen your self confidence because they give you new experiences and challenge you. Other very important thing is simply accepting yourself and getting to know yourself. It’s okay to have flaws and it’s okay to not be perfect.

Another thing that has helped me is pursuing things I love and trying to become best person of myself, as big of a cliche as it is. I don’t mean the best looking version of myself, but the best version of myself mentally and physically. I feel like I have found some kind of piece within myself and I’m learning to take things as they come. I’ve also learnt to make decisions just by listening to myself and not others. I’ve come to realise that it doesn’t matter what others think of me as long as I’m treat myself and others well.

It’s good to remember though that self-confidence and self-esteem don’t have anything to do with being arrogant. I hate it when people who clearly think they are the most confident people in the world, push other people down and think everything is about them. But there’s nothing as inspiring as meeting people who are so confident with what they do and who they are that they are very willing and happy to help others shine.

Once again I have to say that there’s nothing as healing as a walk in nature. Enjoying fresh air, silence and good views is always the best way to unwind! Today we visited Royal National Park which is located about an hour south of Sydney and is known for its beautiful views and unique rock formations.

There are numerous tracks to choose from in Royal National Park and the most popular one is the Coast Walk. It’s actually almost 30 kilometers long but it’s possible to do in sections. Today we started our walk from Bundeena and first walked to the famous Wedding Cake Rock and then down to Marley Beach. The whole thing was about 9 kilometers and took us 3 hours with various breaks.

The best things today besides the good views and company were the perfect weather and hot chocolate in thermo flask. Winter really is making its way here and must say I’m not ready for it! But as long as it’s still sunny on most of the days, I guess I’ll be fine.

This Sweet Potato Thai Curry Soup is one of my favourite dishes at the moment! I’d want to tell you it’s 100% vegan, but there’s 1 tablespoon of fish sauce in it. My brother and his girlfriend made this for the first time when I was in Salzburg, and it was so good I wanted to give it a try myself too.

It’s spicy, full of flavour, healthy and super easy and quick to make! And because it’s a soup, it’s not too heavy but still very filling. So, here’s how you can make the best Sweet Potato Thai Curry Soup!

Instructions (30 mins)

Mince the garlic and roughly chop/grate the ginger. Peel and dice the sweet potato in cubes. Wash the bok choy, chop it and separate the stalks from green ends. Slice red onion, roughly chop the cilantro and cut lime into wedges.

Add the oil, garlic, ginger and curry paste to a large stock pot and sauce for 2 minutes.

Add the sweet potato, bok choy stalks and the vegetable broth to the pot. Bring to boil, and then reduce heat and let simmer for 7-10 minutes (until sweet potatoes are tender).

While the soup is simmering, bring a pot of water to boil and add vermicelli noodles to the pot. Let boil for 2-3 minutes. Drain the noodles and set aside.

When the sweet potatoes are tender, add the coconut milk, fish sauce and sugar to the soup. Stir and adjust the taste if needed with fish sauce and/or sugar. Then add bok choy green to the soup.

Divide noodles to four bowls, add soup and vegetable on the noodles and finally top with red onion, cilantro, a wedge of lime and some sriracha.

Yoga

Surprise, surprise! Just such a good way to unwind after work. It can be yoga with Asana Rebel, or just freely flowing on my mat at home. I always feel like another person after focusing just on my breath and body for a while. I also signed up to one studio last week and loved it! There’s just something so special about the calm and relaxed feeling in yoga studios. And even though I enjoy practicing at home (especially inversions) I find classes more relaxing and empowering.

Sleep

I sleep like a baby here. Maybe because my mind is super exhausted after every day and evenings always so dark. But it’s so good to be out like a light as soon as I go to sleep, and wake up well rested for my alarms. It’s been sunny almost everyday since I got here, and it’s just such a good start to a day to wake up when sun is already up.

Coffee

I’m not a big coffee drinker since I want my body and mind be able to wake up without caffeine. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy a good cup of coffee! Even a quick coffee run makes a day at the office feel a bit more special. My go-tos are dirty chai on weekdays and mocha on weekends. Always in soy milk since me and dairy don’t get along too well.

Nice people and being nice to people

You know, just smiling at random people or holding that door. This morning I went for a run and was so happy when a few people just smiled at me or said good morning. Such a small thing yet what a big difference it makes!

Crime shows on Netflix

I feel like I’m getting old but there are just too many good crime shows! My favourites so far are Ozark, Money Heist and The Fall, which we are still watching.

Trying new recipes

We have agreed with my boyfriend to eat vegetarian food on weekdays and meat on weekends. However, the last thing I want to do when I come back home from work is to start cooking. That’s why we try to cook dishes than can last a couple days. In Helsinki I always used to cook the same things every week, especially when it comes to lunch salads, but here we’ve made something new every week. I’ll sure share some of my favs here!

Breakfast

Breakfast will always be my favourite meal of the day. I’m always so weirded out when I hear people saying they don’t eat breakfast. Of course that’s completely okay, but apparently they have no idea what they’re missing out on. My everyday favourites are overnight oats, smoothie and avocado toast. And it’s not just about the food. It’s also about the moment and about enjoying the morning. It’s especially good if a good cup of tea or coffee and sunshine is involved.